Missives of a Baseball Milquetoast

The only time I feel listless during the baseball season is All-Star Week and that is because my options for watching baseball games become limited on the Monday leading into the All-Star Game up through the Friday following it. The Home Run Derby and All-Star Game are both fun events, but I miss having the full daily slate of games available where I can truly immerse myself. Perhaps I am dreading this year's Midsummer Classic because my San Francisco Giants 39-54 start is their worst since 2017, with that mid-season record being 35-56. Thankfully, the Colorado Rockies are just a smidge worse than the Giants this year, and they just happen to be in San Francisco for one final series before the break. Whether the Giants win or lose this series, I hope this week gives them an opportunity to reflect and recharge in preparation for the second half of the year. I do not expect them to have a miraculous turnaround; however, that would present a welcome set of new emotions for Giants fans...

Tomorrow is the United States' 250th anniversary and for beachgoers, the busiest weekend of the year will be extra amplified over this Fourth of July holiday weekend. Sadly, I won't be enjoying time by the ocean this weekend, but this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection makes me feel like I'm there  but at least I did not have to need to  dig  deep for a topic for this post. The Jersey Shore BlueClaws debuted this new beach-coded alternate logo to commemorate their 25th anniversary season, which as it happens coincides with the United States celebrating its 250th birthday. I love that MILB caps have gone back to grey undervisors and hope the trend continues for many years to come. A large majority of the MLB caps I feature on this blog have a red, white, and blue batterman, but to me the stars seem to be shining extra bright here in tribute to the big birthday party happening for the U.S. tomorrow. I love minor league logos that incorporate baseball elements as well as...

After  posting to this blog for over a dozen years, I sometimes ask myself if I have run out of ideas to write about or if I am conveniently revisiting themes to the point of there no longer being a point in continuing on. And then there are moments when I consider the significance of those themes and the importance of continually reminding myself of the values that define me. Earlier this week I realized this coming Sunday was the NYC Pride March and instantly thought it would be fitting to feature a Charleston Rainbows hat for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday post. I wanted to know how long it had been since I had last written about the team so I dug through the archives only find  this post from almost exactly ten years ago , which was the first—and most recent—time I had written about the Rainbows. I felt chills reading my thoughts on the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016, which frankly is a sensation I expect to sense again in ten years when I think back on how the San Fra...

It has been a wild past few weeks here in New York as the Knicks journey to their first championship in 53 years has been achieved and just yesterday the team was feted with a parade for the ages.  I am not big on crowds  so I walked around the parade area before it kicked off as well as after its conclusion and even those were special experiences I will not soon forget. I have published over 500 entries to this blog and even though I have  mentioned my Knicks fandom in three separate posts , I have only featured two caps of NBA teams and neither was the Knicks! The reason for this is I have not yet found a Knicks hat that I love so this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is a different sort of blue and orange gem to honor the team's historic W. I was fortunate to grow up in Norfolk where I spent summers watching so prospects of the New York Mets farm system and always felt a kindred connection to the organization's lower levels, especially the  Jackson Mets...

It has been over six years since I've featured a Portland Rockies cap here so I think not only has enough time passed, but because today is National Red Rose Day, I just have to feature a Portland Rockies hat to show love to the Rose City for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday post. The embroidery here feels a bit rougher than what I see on my fitted variant of this cap but I am actually fine with it as a snapback is allowed to be a little rugged if it feels the need to be! The sweatband tags here do not feature a New Era flag like the caps from 1997 trough 2000 so I am confident in asserting this one is from either the Portland Rockies inaugural season in 1995 or the following year in 1996. The MILB batterman was present in 1995 which also brings me comfort in my estimation of this cap's age. I have been thinking a lot about Portland because it continues to be a contender for a MLB expansion team. I haven't broached the topic since my Nashville Sounds post this past Augu...

I had a memorable family excursion to Atlanta last weekend, and the Kinship Road-trip tour continues this weekend in Richmond, Virginia. In case you're wondering, I still have not been to a Yankees game this season, which might be a record for me. All is well though, as last night was my first time at CarMax Park, which is the new home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels. I loved every step I took in that ballpark, and I am looking forward to returning if the Squirrels are in town on my next visit. I figured “ no cap” would be more fitting to wear to a new ballpark than one of the fantastic fauxback hats issued by the team. Apologies for mentioning the Yankees again this week; however, I am a New Yorker, and  Richmond was once their Triple-A home ! The team's mascot, Nutzy, is in the midst of a majestic and hurried sprint here, and the only thing that would make me love this cap even more is if the crown were black and the visor were red, but even still, this cap is incredible. I...